JP2000307782A - Scanner and scanner system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a network scanner that can easily select a scanning condition customized for each user in the case of setting scanning conditions so as to set the operation. SOLUTION: An NIC(network interface controller) 2 of the network scanner 1 is connected to hosts 6a, 6b,... via a network 7 to configure a scanner utility system. A concerned file is retrieved from scan condition files of a storage device 4 according to a user ID included in instruction contents of an operation entry from the scanner or the host and/or a file attribute denoting a private or a common use, and contents of the file are indicated in the arranged order of registration data and/or file use data in the unit of files. A user refers to a customized presentation file to easily select and set a scanning condition and then the scanner with excellent operability can be realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network scanner device which can be connected to a plurality of hosts (including a computer device and a peripheral device such as a printer and a facsimile which can be connected to the network) via a network. The present invention relates to a network scanner device having means for easily and efficiently performing a setting operation of scanning conditions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a scanner device is used, it is necessary for a user to perform complicated key operations for inputting scanning conditions each time the scanner device is used, and when a result of reading by a scanner is not desired. It is necessary to perform operations such as reloading the original and re-entering the scan conditions, so register the scan conditions in advance to reduce the burden on the user and to avoid mistakes in the settings. The one which added the function of calling and using was proposed. On the other hand, a network scanner device is a scanner device connected to a host via a network, in which the scanner performs a reading operation in accordance with a scanning condition attached to an operation command input from the host and transmitted through the network, and the read image data is read. To the host via the network.
In general, a system using a network scanner device has a configuration in which the scanner device is shared by a plurality of hosts.

When the default data registered as described above is used to reduce the burden on the user and avoid mistakes in setting, a large number of co-users need to use many different scanning conditions according to their needs. Registration increases the burden on the individual user to select the one to be used from among the many registered scan conditions, which is a particular problem when used in the network scanner described above. Become
In order to solve the problem caused by the increase in the number of registrations due to the shared use, a user ID is assigned to each registered data, and the scan conditions registered at the time of use are searched and used by the user ID, and the user is used. Some of them have been proposed.

[0004]

However, in the methods proposed so far, only one scanning condition is registered for a specific user, and the scanning condition does not sufficiently meet the needs of the user. However, even if a plurality of scan conditions are registered for a specific user, all the registered scan conditions are presented as setting candidates, and the usability of the user is not good. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to easily select a scan condition customized for each user when setting a scan condition in the network scanner device. To provide a network scanner device capable of performing a setting operation by using a network scanner device.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanner and a plurality of scan conditions in which scan conditions of the scanner are registered and use-related data and / or registration-related data of the scan conditions are registered. Files,
A scanner device having a scan condition file search unit, a scan condition file display unit, and an operation input unit for setting a scan condition in the scanner by referring to the scan condition file displayed on the display unit;
The search means searches for a plurality of corresponding scan condition files from the group of scan condition files based on designated data input at the time of setting scan conditions, and retrieves the obtained plurality of scan condition files into the use-related file. A scanner device is characterized in that it is sorted in a predetermined order and displayed on the display means based on data and / or registration-related data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the scanner device according to the first aspect, the specified data is a user identification ID and / or a file attribute indicating whether the data is private or shared.
It is characterized by including.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the scanner device according to the second aspect, whether or not the specified data has a scan condition file having a shared file attribute as a reference file is specified in association with a user identification ID. It is characterized by including data.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the scanner device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the registration related data of the scan condition file is set as a registration date and the registration date data is used. The display order of the plurality of searched files is determined.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the scanner device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the use-related data of the scan condition file is set as a use frequency, and the search is performed by using the use frequency data. The display order of a plurality of files is determined.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the scanner device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the use related data of the scan condition file is used as use history data, and the scan is performed by using the use history data. The display order of the plurality of files is determined.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the scanner device according to the sixth aspect, the order of presentation of the scan condition files is set in the order of last use date.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanner system comprising the scanner device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects provided with an NIC, and a plurality of hosts connectable to the scanner device via a network. Network and NIC using the operation input and display functions of the host
The scanner system is configured to perform a scan condition setting input operation to the scanner device via the scanner device.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described based on the following embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an example of an apparatus for implementing the present invention as a network scanner apparatus. The network scanner device 1 includes a network interface controller (hereinafter abbreviated as “NIC”) 2, a scanner control unit 3,
It comprises a storage device 4 and the like. Network 7 by NIC2
, 6n are connected to the hosts 6a, 6b,... Hosts 6a, 6b,..., 6n are external devices such as a personal computer and a word processor,
It is a peripheral device such as AX. The NIC 2 supports a plurality of network protocols, and can communicate with each of the hosts 6a, 6b,..., 6n via the network 7. The scanner controller 3 controls a scanning operation for reading a document image set on a document table (contact glass) (not shown). Storage device 4
Is a large-capacity secondary storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) device or a magneto-optical disk device or a primary storage device such as a memory.

Further, in the network scanner device of the present embodiment, the above-described configuration functions as the following means (1) to (14). (1) Scan condition file registration means capable of registering a plurality of scan condition files, each of which is composed of a plurality of scan conditions and additional information. (2) A means for registering a user identification ID as additional information in association with each scan condition file. (3) Means for registering each scan condition file in association with a registration date as additional information. (4) Means for registering the number of times of use as additional information in association with each scan condition file. (5) A means for registering the last use date in association with each scan condition file as additional information. (6) A means for controlling a shared scan condition file selection attribute for controlling whether a scan condition file having a shared file attribute is to be selected as a scan condition setting candidate in association with each user identification ID. (7) Scan condition file selecting means for selecting a scan condition file designated by an operation unit (not shown) or any host from the registered scan condition files. (8) In the means for selecting a scan condition file, means for selecting only a scan condition file related to a specific user identification ID. (9) In the means for selecting the scan condition file, means for selecting the scan condition file in order of registration date and presenting it to the user. (10) In the means for selecting a scan condition file, means for selecting and presenting to the user in order of use frequency of the scan condition file. (11) In the means for selecting a scan condition file, means for selecting a scan condition file in a recently used order and presenting it to a user. (12) With respect to the scan condition file to be registered, a private file attribute for making the scan condition file usable only by a predetermined user, and the scan condition file to be commonly used by all users. Means to specify file attributes such as shared file attributes. (13) Image reading means for scanning an image surface of a document and reading the image. (14) Image data transmitting means for transmitting the read image data to a host on a network that has given an instruction to the scanner device.

Next, when the user sets the scanner conditions in the network scanner device 1 having the above-described functions, the user can easily select a scan condition customized for each user. The following describes the processing operation performed. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the registration processing operation in the network scanner device 1 of the present embodiment. According to this flow, first, the registration processing operation routine will be described. This routine starts when the operation of the apparatus is set to the registration mode, and first, it is determined whether or not a scan condition is input (step S2).
1). As a result, when it is determined that the scan condition has been input, the scan condition is registered in the storage device 4 as a scan condition file (step S22). At this time,
The scan condition file also includes the registration date of the scan condition as additional data.

In step S22, the user inputs the scan conditions by using the input operation unit (not shown) of the network scanner 1 or the host 6a, 6b,
.., 6n to input desired scan conditions and register them in the storage device 4 as a scan condition file. Examples of items of the scan condition file registered in the storage device 4 are shown in (1) to (11) below. (1) Document size (2) Scan area (3) Resolution (4) Brightness (5) Contrast (6) Threshold (7) Scan condition file attribute (1: Private file attribute, 2: Shared file attribute) ( 8) User identification ID (9) Date of registration (10) Date of last use (11) Number of uses Of the above items, (1) to (6) are operating conditions of the scanner device, that is, scanning conditions. Is a parameter required to set Further, the above items (7) to (11)
Is data related to the scan condition file which is added to the scan condition and registered, and has the following contents. The scan condition file attribute (7) is the file attribute of the scan condition file registered in the storage device 4, that is, the file itself in which the items (1) to (11) are written, and includes the private file attribute and the shared file attribute. Is specified. The private file attribute is used so that only a predetermined user can use the input scan condition file, and other users cannot use the scan condition file. Further, the shared file attribute is used so that any user can commonly use the input scan condition file. The user identification ID (8) is for identifying a user, and is used when the above-described scan condition file attribute is a private file attribute. The registration date in (9) is the date when the scan condition file was registered, and is used when presenting the scan conditions in order of registration date and time when the user selects the scan condition file. . The last use date in (10) is the date when the scan condition file was last used, and is used when the scan condition file indicates the scan conditions in the order of recent use when selecting the scan condition file. I do. The number of uses in (11) is the number of times the scan condition file has been used, and is used when the scan conditions are indicated by the use frequency when the user selects the scan condition file.

Next, a description will be given of a processing operation performed by the present apparatus when setting a scan condition in the network scanner using the scan condition file registered as described above. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the scan condition file selection processing in the network scanner device 1. The operation routine of the scan condition file selection processing will be described according to this flow. This routine is started by setting the operation of the apparatus to the selection processing mode. First, it is determined whether or not a scan condition file selection signal has been input from the operation unit (or the scan condition file selection from the host 6a, 6b,..., 6n). Command reception) (step S3).
1). The scan condition file selection signal includes a user identification ID and a shared scan condition file selection attribute.

If it is determined that the scan condition file selection signal has been input, the scan condition files registered in the storage device 4 are sorted (step S32).
The following methods can be used for sorting. The scan condition files are sorted in order of registration date and time by the registration date of the scan condition file. The scan condition files are sorted in descending order of the number of times they have been used. The scan condition file is sorted in the order of the most recently used date when the file was last used. Subsequently, the scan condition files selected according to the sorted order are extracted one by one (step S33).
User ID of the next selected scan condition file
Then, it is determined whether or not the user identification ID included in the input scan condition file selection signal matches (step S34). If not, the process proceeds to the step of determining the next file attribute. If they match, the contents of the scan condition file selected in step S33 are displayed on the character display on the operation unit (step S37).

If it is determined in step S34 that the selected file does not have a user identification ID (that is, it does not have a private file attribute), the next step of determining the file attribute is a scan condition file. It is determined whether or not the shared scan condition file selection attribute is specified in the selection signal (step S35), and it is determined whether or not not only the private file attribute but also the shared file attribute is required to be included in the file to be used. If not specified as a result, step S33
Returns to the step, selects the next scan condition file, and repeats the processing up to this point. If the shared scan condition file selection attribute has been specified, it is determined whether the scan condition file attribute is a shared file attribute (step S).
36). If the attribute is not the shared file attribute, the process returns to step S33, selects the next scan condition file, and repeats the processing up to this point. If the attribute is the shared file attribute, the contents of the scan condition file selected in step S33 are displayed on the character display on the operation unit (step S37).

It is determined whether the contents of the scan condition file displayed on the character display on the operation unit match the scan conditions desired by the user, and the keys on the operation unit are operated according to the determination. For the key operation on the operation unit, it is determined whether or not the next candidate key has been pressed (step S38). If it has been pressed, the process returns to step S33, the next scan condition file is selected, and the processing up to this point is repeated. . If the next candidate key has not been pressed, it is determined whether or not the confirmation key on the operation unit has been pressed (step S39). If not pressed, the process returns to step S38. If it is confirmed that the content of the selected scan condition file is the one desired by the user, one is added to the number of times the scan condition file is used, and the last use date of the scan condition file is updated. Then (step S40), the scan condition selection process ends.

In this manner, the scan conditions are confirmed,
After the scan conditions are set by the user's operation, the presence or absence of a document on the contact glass (or document feed tray when the automatic document feeder is installed) is determined (the output of a document detection sensor (not shown)). Signal state), if there is an original on the contact glass, scan the image surface of the original on the contact glass under the scanning conditions described in the selected scan condition file and scan the image (automatic When a document feeding device is mounted, the document feeding operation is also included).
After that, the scanned image data is transmitted to the hosts 6a, 6b, ..., 6n via the network 7.

As described above, in the network scanner device 1 of this embodiment, a plurality of scan condition files are registered in the storage device 4, and the hosts 6a, 6b,. 6n or an instruction from an operation unit provided in the apparatus, a scan condition file is selected, displayed to the user in file units, and an operation for setting a desired scan condition is performed. Therefore, it is not necessary for each user to perform a complicated key operation for inputting a desired scanning condition every time the network scanner device is used, and the burden of the key operation when using the network scanner device is reduced. Further, since the scanning conditions can be selected in the order of registration, in the order of use frequency, or in the order of recent use, the burden of key operation when using the network scanner device is reduced. The efficiency of work related to scanning is greatly improved. Furthermore, since a private file attribute and a shared file attribute can be specified for the scan condition file registered in the storage device 4, it is possible to reliably perform scanning according to the user or the document to be scanned. As described above, the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the network scanner apparatus has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a digital copying machine or a multifunction peripheral which can be connected to a plurality of hosts via a network.

[0023]

(1) According to the present invention, use-related data (user identification ID and / or file attribute indicating whether it is private or shared) accompanying user's operation input when setting scan conditions The corresponding file is searched from the scan condition file according to the above, and the obtained file is presented for each file in an order arranged according to the file usage and / or file registration related data. By referring to the file, the user can easily select and set scan conditions from the customized file, and a scanner device with good operability can be provided.

(2) In addition to the effect of the above (1), if a selection is made to link the shared file attribute to the user identification ID, the range of the scan condition file presented according to the instruction by the operation input is expanded and used. It is possible to select a file in which scan conditions more suitable for the user's wish can be set.

(3) In addition to the effects of the above (1) and (2), by registering the registered scan condition files in order of registration date and presenting them as setting candidates, a user can select a desired scan condition. Easier to do. (4) In addition to the effects of the above (1) and (2), the registered scan condition files are sorted in the order of frequency of use and presented as setting candidates, so that the user can easily select a desired scan condition. . (5) In addition to the effects of the above (1) and (2), the registered scan condition file is sorted in the order of the most recently used file from the last use date of the registered scan condition file and presented as a setting candidate so that the user can perform a desired scan Conditions become easier to select.

(6) In addition to the effects of the above (1) to (5), the present invention is applied to the case where the scanning conditions of the scanner are set by the operation input of a host connectable to the scanner via a network. The effect of solving the problem caused by the increase in the number of registrations due to the shared use that can occur in the network scanner device is great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of an example of an apparatus that implements the present invention as a network scanner apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a scan condition file registration processing operation in the scanner device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a scan condition file selection processing operation in the scanner device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Network scanner device, 2 ... NIC (Network Interface Controller), 3 ... Scanner control part, 4 ... Storage device, 6a, 6b, ..., 6n ... Host, 7 ... Network.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A scanner, a plurality of scan condition file groups in which scan conditions of the scanner are registered and use-related data and / or registration-related data of the scan conditions are registered, and a scan condition file search unit. A scanning condition file display means, and an operation input means for setting a scan condition in the scanner by referring to the scan condition file displayed on the display means; A plurality of corresponding scan condition files are searched from the scan condition file group based on the designated data input at the time of the search, and the obtained plurality of scan condition files are retrieved based on the use-related data and / or the registration-related data. And displaying on the display means after sorting in a predetermined order. Jana equipment. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the designated data is a user identification ID and / or
2. The scanner device according to claim 1, further comprising a file attribute indicating whether the file is private or shared. 3. The scanner according to claim 2, wherein the designated data includes data for designating whether a scan condition file having a shared file attribute is to be a reference file in association with a user identification ID. apparatus. 4. The registration date of the scan condition file is set as registration date, and the display order of the plurality of files searched is determined by using the registration date data. 4. The scanner device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein use-related data of the scan condition file is used as a use frequency, and the display order of the plurality of files searched is determined by using the use frequency data. A scanner device according to any one of the above. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein use-related data of the scan condition file is used as use history data, and the display order of the plurality of files searched is determined by using the use history data. The scanner device according to any one of the above. 7. The scanner device according to claim 6, wherein the display order of the scan condition file is the last use date. 8. A scanner system comprising the scanner device according to claim 1 and a plurality of hosts connectable to the scanner device via a network, wherein operation of the host is performed. A scanner system, wherein an input and display function is used to perform a scan condition setting input operation to the scanner device via a network and an NIC.